Actually learning on a wakeskate is a very common and useful method for learning raleys. You may take one or two wrecks to the face, but ideally you'll learn to get your feet back underneath you and just slip into the water.

The Raley is going to be painful to learn anyway you slice it. My first 7 happened so quick, I only extended and didn't pull back in. 7 Raley's to belly flops. Then I was getting the board back underneath me and butt dunking. Then number I stuck number 12.

If you aint got the gutts to try it on a wakeboard, you're not going to have what it takes to learn the trick through to proficiency. The raley is all-or-none. No half commitment.

I'd advocate against using a wakeskate. The only thing that a wakeskate will protect you against is once you're learning to pull your feet back in, if you don't quite make it. The Raley to Edge crash with wakeboard is quite uncomfortable.

If it were I, I'd use a wakeboard since the edging characterizes of a wakeskate and a wakeboard are completely different. On the raley you want all the speed you can get, I've never known a wakeskate to accelerate hard enough into the wake.

Craig--I like your perspective on the raley training, but the wakeskate has been a proving training aid. The "BOOK" and WBM promote using the wakestate to learn the Raley. Granted the edging maynot be exactly the same its more the practice of getting your feet back underneath you. With all due respect Craig-I am gonna take the advise of Kyle Schmidt(pro instructor of the wakeboard camp)every day of the week.

Kevin - I feel that if you're comfortable on the wakeskate then great, but I learned the raley without trying it on the wakeskate just fine. Even now being able to land it on the wakeboard, I'm still not confident in my abilities to do it on a wakeskate for the same reasons that Craig mentions.

I'd recommend giving it a shot on the wakeskate, but if that's not working, don't rule out the option to just try it on the wakeboard.

it is definately easier to try this, you can get a feel for pulling your body back down. got all the way down on to my butt on first try with a wakeskate. it has a lot of potential to hurt your boys though if you arent careful, let me tell you. OUCH!